Thank you for helping us make Black Women’s Equal Pay Day and the #ClockOut4EqualPay campaign a huge success on social media!

Did you know that Black women make only 64¢ to the white male dollar? On average, a Black woman would have to work anadditional 208 days into 2015 to make what a white man earned in the 2014 calendar year. That is, a Black woman would need to work from January 1, 2014 until July 28, 2015to make what a white man earned by December 31, 2014.

Over the course of a 40-year career, Black women would typically lose $775,000 to the wage gap – this means that a Black woman would have to work almost 63 years to earn what a white man would make in 40 years.1

How You Can #ClockOut4EqualPay on Social Media

On or before July 28th:

The goal of the picture is to show you metaphorically clocking out of work at 2:07 p.m.—the time (64% into a regular 9-5 workday) that the average Black woman would leave work to account for the typical wage gap if she were paid at the same hourly rate as the average white man. We want to see pictures from ALL demographic groups, regardless of whether you are employed. A diverse group of participants will make this an incredibly powerful tool to build the nationwide solidarity we need to end pay inequity!

On July 28th:

1. Post your selfie on on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest,or any other social mediaplatforms.Mention us in your tweets@Women4Equality, and use the hashtags #BlackWomenEqualPay and #ClockOut4EqualPay. Let’s make this a trending topic!

2. Share information about Black Women’s Equal Pay Day using the hashtags #BlackWomenEqualPay and #ClockOut4EqualPay.

Black women working as physicians and surgeons make 52¢ for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts.

Black women working as customer service representatives make 79¢ for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts.

Black women working as personal care aides make 85¢ for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts.

Black women working as construction laborers make 86¢ for every dollar paid to their white, non-Hispanic male counterparts.

Low-Wage Workforce

Black women are overrepresented in some of the most poorly paid jobs in the nation, such as child care workers, restaurant servers, and housekeepers.5

Black women make up 11.6% of the low-wage workforce, nearly double their share of the overall workforce, 6.1%. In comparison, white, non-Hispanic men’s share of the low wage workforce, 15.9%, is less than half their share of the overall workforce, 35%.

Even within the low-wage workforce, Black women working full-time, year-round are typically paid just 84% of what their white male counterparts make.6

Upward Mobility

The wage gap may make it more difficult for Black women to move upward through the middle class.

Only 26% of minority women live in families with an income considered to be “upper-middle-class and above,” defined as an income of $58,000 or more. However, 46% of white women and 60% of white men have achieved this level of family income.7

Women overall have seen their annual earnings increase by 32% since 1974, but Black women’s annual earnings have increased only 22%.8

Poverty Rates

A Black woman working full-time, year-round who was a relatively low-wage earner (at the 25th percentile) for her racial group and sex in 2013 did not earn enough to bring a family of four above the Federal Poverty Level. In contrast, a white, non-Hispanic man working full-time, year-round who was a relatively low-wage earner for his racial group and sex earned $35,000 per year, well above the Federal Poverty Level.10

Single Mothers

Black women are more likely than white, non-Hispanic women to be heads of households, and many of these women support families on their own.11

Married couples with children reported median family incomes in 2013 of $84,916, while Black female-headed families with children reported only $22,575.12

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that 31% of Black women reported having a “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” time paying for food for their families, compared to 22% of white women.13 In addition, 52% of Black women reported having a “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” time paying monthly utility bills, compared to 34% of white women.14

For more information about a key step toward fair pay for Black women, a fair minimum wage, see the National Women’s Law Center’s fact sheet.

Black women’s full-time median earnings were $34,089, while white, non-Hispanic men’s were $53,488 in 2013. See U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Table PINC-05: Work Experience in 2013 – People 15 Years Old and Over by Total Money Earnings in 2013, Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032014/perinc/pinc05_000.htm. ↩

Wages for white, non-Hispanic women have increased 38% in the same period. See U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Table P-38: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by Median Earnings and Sex, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/people/. ↩

See U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Table FINC-03: Presence of Related Children Under 18 Years Old – All Families by Total Money Income in 2013, Type of Family, Work Experience in 2013, Race and Hispanic Origin of Reference Person, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032014/faminc/finc03_000.htm. ↩

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